News: digital

Marian Keyes records audiobook narration for first time

Marian Keyes has performed her first ever audiobook narration for her new novel Grown Ups (Michael Joseph), produced by W F Howes.... Read more

ALCS calls urgent meeting with Morgan as government stalls EU copyright law

The Society of Authors and the Authors; Licensing & Collecting Society have expressed disappointment at the government's decision not to implement an EU law on copyright, intended to... Read more

Geras to become Bookouture m.d. as Rhodes moves on

Oliver Rhodes is leaving his role as chief executive of Bookouture, the digital publisher he founded, in July, after which Jenny Geras, currently publisher at... Read more

Derry Girls' Nicola Coughlan to narrate Big Girl, Small Town

"Derry Girls" actor Nicola Coughlan will read the unabridged audiobook of Michelle Gallen’s début novel Big Girl, Small Town.... Read more

PA welcomes 'positive' ruling supporting removal of VAT on Times digital editions

The Publishers Association has welcomed a judge's decision ruling that digital versions of the Times and Sunday Times should be subject to a zero-rate of VAT, saying it supports... Read more

Hilary Mantel casts Ben Miles for Wolf Hall trilogy audio

Hilary Mantel has cast actor Ben Miles to narrate the W F Howes audiobooks of her Wolf Hall trilogy, revealing he helped shape final volume The Mirror and the... Read more

Pottermore records £31.5m sales

Pottermore, the digital publisher of Harry Potter, recorded sales of £31.5m in the year to end March 2019, with pretax profit jumping to £6.9m. Describing... Read more

Online book festival to launch new genre events for 2020

Online book festival My Virtual Literary Festival (MyVLF) will launch a series of new festivals based on different genres later this year. ... Read more

Settlement close in Audible Captions lawsuit

Audible and a group of seven publishers are close to reaching a settlement in the copyright lawsuit against the firm's Captions programme, according to a... Read more

Rakuten OverDrive in buyout deal with KKR investment firm

Investment firm KKR has signed a deal to buy digital reading platform OverDrive from Rakuten for an undisclosed sum. Read more

Pearson wins contract with UK Home Office

Pearson has won a contract with the UK Home Office to deliver secure English language tests (SELTs) to people who need to demonstrate their English... Read more

Curtis Brown Creative launches TV serial writing course

The Curtis Brown Creative writing school is launching a new course in writing an original TV drama serial. Read more

Traditional publishers missing out on romance and sci-fi sales

Publishers are missing out on audiobook listeners who want sci-fi and romance titles, statistics on sales show. Read more

The London Library launches new podcast series

The London Library has launched a new podcast series in which a leading writer or cultural figure will discuss the books that have shaped them with... Read more